For decades, television has been present in the fabric of life, especially in the United States. Television played a major part for people defying their interests. For example, major events like Football cups transformed the act of “watching” into a social event one could share with friends or family.

I remember being a little kid and watching soccer games together with my father, brother and even cousins. It was like a holiday and we were sharing together the thrill and emotions of scoring a goal. But things definitely go bad when watching TV goes out of hand and it transform you into a vegetable.

The Internet Steals Viewers From Television?

A Nielson study back in 2009 revealed that the average American watches 4 hours and 49 minutes of television each day. That’s almost five hours of television every single day. As alarming as this might sound, things are starting to change. With the rapid evolvement of technology, the act of watching TV has evolved. Television has a huge influence on the audience and it seems to be the perfect advertising tool for businesses.

Internet, the new kid in the block already has a lot of muscles and it seems to attract consumers and content providers thanks to its versatility and low costs. Today, television watching isn’t supposed to be confined to the four walls of a room. Thanks to tablets, smartphone and really slim and light notebooks; you can watch the news anywhere in the park if you like. Sure, for that you’d need a good Internet connection that could cost you a little fortune, but we’ll definitely get lower prices soon (viva Republic Wireless ).

And now, a new report shows viewers are leaving the mainstream media in flocks and redirecting their interest towards online services. The shocking statistics also claims that CNN is losing 50% of its total viewers, while Fox News is dropping 17% in numbers. Does that mean that the couch potato myth is on its way to become obsolete? Or viewers are simply switching places to their Internet seats?

Online Content – When and Where You Want

Of course, speculation is rampant among journalist why this migration is happening. The reasons have something to do with the quality of the news people are receiving. Maybe the idea is that the public wants to dictate its own path and not stand at the mercy of what channels decide to broadcast. Following this line of thought, sites like StumbleUpon or Reddit tap into the collective consciousness of millions of users that vote what is most important to them. At least, you know that there’s something appreciated by the community and not made by some media tycoons in order to brainwash you.

Can we say that news on the Internet is more democratic or that’s just a myth? We can say for sure, though, that you can always read what you what, when you want, not having to wait for a special edition. However, in some cases, you’ll have to pay for content you want to access. News broadcasts were originally public service announcements, educating the public of world and local events. In the early 1900’s, the first non-print news came in the form of newsreels, which were in the form of short documentary films and were aired via the movie distribution network.

Newsreels transformed into radio broadcasts in 1920 and centered around preliminary election results, but the “modern day” television news shows began in 1928 with daily ten-minute news briefs. Since then a lot has changed. Today’s news seem to be more about misinforming people as they are bombastic and blown out of proportion. This question must be asked. When turning on the news broadcast, is it for factual coverage of events or for entertainment that we do so? What is most important to us, accuracy or sensationalism?

Benefits of Online Content

Slowly, the public is starting to change the dogma and is educating itself. People are no longer interested in what outrageous outfit Kim Kardashian wore on the red carpet. What about the things happening in the real world? War, the economical crisis, the rebellions going on the Arabic world? For the first time, they seem to come first and that’s why people are trying to break themselves from the traditional media. The era of reliable information starts with online streaming.

With the help of such important technologies as cloud storage, it would be able for you to see your beloved TV show on your desktop PC and then resume while you are on the train. It’s all about adapting to costumer’s needs and I think more and more TV viewers will move to Internet features that will give them the freedom to access the needed content when needed. Also, like it or not, news appear much faster than on TV. Use the mighty power of search engines and they will land you on the desired place.

Internet TV, The Peaceful Compromise?

A brilliant solution for TV to stay alive is, without hesitation, the Internet TV and it seems that Google is sensing, once more, the huge potential in this as they are going to launch Google TV in Europe. And if you think about it, an online customer is a more “educated” consumer and viewer than the TV spectator. Sure, there’s no official statistic to prove that, but think about it – what’s easier, to play with the remote and switch channel or to learn how to use the web and to stream your content across devices.

Also, let’s not forget a very, very important aspect of the Internet and this is social media. Think about it, if somebody will see a great show or read something interesting, they will obviously share it with the world (praise goes to mr.Zuckerberg for creating “the need to share”), thus resulting in free promotion for the content provider, right? Not only that, but you also get real-time appreciation of your content, be it good or bad. Thus, social media is the instrument that leverages the power of your Internet viewer and consumer of content.

is the Managing Editor of Technically Personal. When he has some extra-time, he writes about Windows 8 apps and reviews them on Wind8Apps. Believes that technology is the main engine of civilization. Send him a tweet or make him your Facebook friend